


Techno's Theory on Unraveling Defense Mechanisms

by dontrollthedice



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Brothers, Drunkenness, Estranged Friends to Friends, Gen, background skephalo, background spifL, fluffier than it sounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27948815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontrollthedice/pseuds/dontrollthedice
Summary: Wilbur raised an eyebrow and kept his voice much lower than Techno’s, who had frankly ran out of fucks to give about volume long ago. "Techno, it's three in the morning. Where’re you going?""To flip off God one last time before I descend to hell."Wilbur nodded, and Techno left the house in a T-shirt and sweatpants, his anger keeping him warm as he trekked through the biting early spring winds.Tapl will pay dearly.--In which Tapl gets a bit too drunk, Techno's the poor friend called in to help him stumble home, and the two somehow end up tripping and falling down memory lane.
Relationships: Harvey | TapL & Dave | Technoblade
Comments: 51
Kudos: 249





	Techno's Theory on Unraveling Defense Mechanisms

**Author's Note:**

> bro this fic went through more chapter titles than skeppy has channels but my agenda is the tapl-techno friendship and i will not stop pushing it

Frankly, Techno was pissed off.

That was hard to accomplish. No matter how many times Phil badgered him about his grades, how many times Wilbur texted him solely in the modern hieroglyphs that were emojis, how many times Tommy messed with whatever objects in his room he felt were necessary to mess with that day, Techno would never say he felt the slightest bit angry. Maybe annoyed at times, but never  _ mad _ .

Well, there was a first for everything. And the first time he felt like punching a wall was during possibly the most uncomfortable phone call of his life while he sat on the living room couch with Wilbur, who stared in concern.

"Wilbur," Techno called after hanging up. He stood and grabbed his keys off the table. "I'm going out. Make sure Tommy doesn't blow up the house."

Wilbur raised an eyebrow and kept his voice much lower than Techno’s, who had frankly ran out of fucks to give about volume long ago. "Techno, it's three in the morning. Where’re you going?"

"To flip off God one last time before I descend to hell."

Wilbur nodded, and Techno left the house in a T-shirt and sweatpants, his anger keeping him warm as he trekked through the biting early spring winds.

Tapl will pay dearly.

* * *

As it turned out, the person in charge of the friend group’s hangout for this night was Spifey, someone Techno thought he should be more familiar with by now but frankly wasn’t. Apparently he was the designated driver for this friend group (except this is a close enough city to not require driving, so he was more of a glorified babysitter) and needed to stay for the others, but Tapl was ready to tap out at that point, having drunk-called Techno to pick him up like a fucking idiot.

“Take care of him, yeah?” Spifey had told him after passing Tapl off to him, glancing at Tapl with far too soft eyes. “He’s very important to me. I’m sure he is to you, too.”

Techno had only barely managed to suppress rolling his eyes before nodding politely.

Because really, Techno was certain he knew Tapl better than some beaver guy who was almost definitely the biggest Tapl simp alive. Techno may not be a simp, but they were brothers, damn it. Perhaps not by blood but definitely by heart, and that was what mattered. In fact, he had almost balked when Spifey had asked him if he knew which dorm Tapl stayed in. Did people truly assume he didn’t know anything just because they didn’t speak that much anymore? 

And now here he was, walking towards the school dorms with Tapl latched on his back and wincing at the smell of alcohol that clung to Tapl. He didn’t get the strange looks he expected from strangers walking by, but he did make sure to extend to his full height when they did glance over at him. Being tall with an unfriendly face had its perks even on top of the pocket knife he always carried on him.

“Technooo,” Tapl whined, and Techno leaned down so he didn’t fall flat on the floor. “Where are we? Where’s George? Did we finally get away from Vurb?”

Okay, that was a fuck ton of questions Techno wasn’t prepared to answer. He stayed silent, hoping Tapl wouldn’t push.

But Tapl being himself, of course he pushed. “Techno? You there?”

“Regretfully, yes,” Techno sighed. “I’m literally carrying you right now.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I can walk.”

“You cannot.”

“I can! I can do anything I put my mind to—” He interrupted himself and slumped his head down on Techno’s shoulder. “Ugh. Everything hurts. Nevermind.”

Techno rolled his eyes and remembered why he avoided being around drunk people.

Granted, his only experience with a drunk person had been when Wilbur had been stupid enough to get drunk at a karoake bar at three in the morning and needed Phil to pick him up. Many other people were probably perfectly tolerable to be around, but the amount of stupid conversation Techno had overheard from his room was enough for the rest of his lifetime.

“Techno,” Tapl called, and Techno prepared himself for another stupid question.

“Yes?”

“Where are we?”

Techno sighed again. “I’m walking you back to your dorm.”

“Where’s Geo and the others?”

“It’s ‘where  _ are _ Geo and the others.’”

“You’re literally the worst person alive.”

Techno chuckled at that. The conversation from then on was a bit more bearable.

Techno continued his trek across the city, letting Tapl ramble on about whatever drunken shenanigans he and his friends had gotten up to that night.

* * *

They arrived at the dorms soon enough (thank fuck for that—Techno was fucking freezing) and thankfully, everyone in the building was either asleep, at the library, or congregated in that bar.

Tapl had fallen silent somewhere at the three-quarter point of the walk. Techno still hadn’t turned around to confirm if he was sleeping or not, but Tapl confirmed it for him.

“You know my dorm, right?” Tapl mumbled out, his words slurred from exhaustion.

Techno hummed out a yes and went on the search for the correct door. His instinct led him to the fifth door on the right. As he cycled through his ring of labeled keys, he wondered why he remembered exactly where Tapl’s dorm was.

Oh, right. The idiot (and Skeppy, the other idiot) had dragged him to their dorm on the day they had moved in, showing him around the tiny space like it was a mansion. After that excursion, they had sent him on his way with a carton of apple juice, but not before Tapl had handed his spare key and told him to keep it on him everywhere.

And that was possibly the highest sign of trust anybody had ever given Techno.

Techno held the green and red colored key between his thumb and index finger before pushing it into the lock and twisting. He pushed, and the door swung open with Tapl’s cheers.

The dorm was as messy as Techno expected it to be. Neither Skeppy nor Tapl had a streak of organized behavior in the many years he had known the two. Thankfully, the floor was clean enough for Techno to carefully step over stray lego pieces (lego?) without too much issue. At least, Techno was certain it was his bed. Only one person would have the ugliest apple plushie on his bed.

Techno set Tapl onto the bed as gently as a man pathetically unfamiliar with physical affection could (Oh, well. It wasn’t like Tapl was fragile by any means). He held his hand out and mumbled, “Phone.”

Tapl dug through his pockets once, twice, thrice, then took his phone out and handed it to Techno.

Techno fell silent as he charged the phone on the nightstand next to the bed. Water helped drunk people, right? He had watched Phil sit with Wilbur and ensure he drank a whole glass of water before heading to bed on that night.

Well, no need to make a scene out of it. Techno stepped into the dorm’s pathetic excuse of a kitchen to pour a glass of water (in a plastic cup, of course. Tapl’s coordination may have been as sharp as a knife when he was sober, but Techno didn’t quite trust him drunk). 

“Dude, your kitchen’s sad,” Techno snorted as he approached with the drink. He held the cup out to Tapl, who had somehow found the energy to sit straight up. “Do you need a mini-fridge or something? Wilbur has an old one we don’t use anymore.”

Tapl stared directly at him with crinkled eyes and wobbling lips.

Oh no. He looked sad. Why was he sad?

Techno set the drink on the nightstand and held his palms up. “Okay, hey, the kitchen’s not that bad. You’ve got a sink, at least.”

"Techno?" Tapl called, his voice shaky as if he were about to cry. And if Techno didn't know Tapl this well, he'd assume he was about to cry. “Can you stay a bit?”

Oh. So he wasn’t sad about the kitchen.

Technically, his job was done. Tapl probably wouldn't be able to find the coordination to walk all the way out the dorm building. Techno could just stand up and walk out right now with no repercussions, and Tapl would completely understand when he was sober in the morning.

But something felt wrong with that. Techno would readily admit he wasn’t the most affectionate person in the world, but he wanted whatever god was cruel enough to create this world to hesitate before sending him to hell. He knew he hated being trapped with his thoughts sober; it’d be too cruel to doom a drunk Tapl to a night of overthinking as he was prone to do.

That was how he justified it to himself anyway, as he knocked lego pieces to the side with his foot before taking a seat on the floor. This wasn’t his original plan, but lots of things weren’t.

“Drink first,” Techno said, cocking his head up to where he had placed down the cup of water.

There was silence as Tapl reached out and took sips of water. Techno took the moment to text Wilbur a series of texts just alarming enough to be worrying but not raise any flags. Being cryptic was an art he was proud of mastering.

Then he remembered exactly why he was here, and the anger returned.

“Why’re you so drunk anyway?” Techno grumbled. “You’re smarter than this.”

“Oh my goodness, you sound like my mom,” Tapl sighed, setting the cup of water back on the nightstand. “I just wanted to see what it was like.” Then he paused. “Woah. Momma Techno. Who’re your children, WIlbur and Tommy?”

Techno decided he would ignore that. “I thought alcohol tasted bad to you.”

“It does, but Finn recommended a drink that makes the taste super fruity. I don’t remember what it was called, but I had a ton of those.” He paused. “Don’t give me that look, it was fucking delicious.”

“I’m sure it was.”

Tapl rolled his eyes. “You and your sarcasm. I don’t know why I called you.”

“Why  _ did  _ you call me? I’m, like, the worst person to call for emotional support.”

“... Are you mad at me?” Tapl murmured. “Your name just felt the safest out of everyone on my contacts list. Sorry about making you come all the way here…”

Techno’s heart sank.

At any other moment in time, Techno would feel certain in answering yes, he was angry. But just a month ago, he had been in a study session with Niki and had mentioned his essay on the five love languages he had written for an assignment. Niki, as the well-meaning person she was, just had to offer her insight after Techno had listed out all five.

_ “I think yours is acts of service and quality time. I’ve never seen you actually say anything directly to any of your brothers or our friends, but…” _

_ “Ah, I don’t have the capacity to love,” _ had been Techno’s genius response, delivered in his usual monotone.  _ “I exchanged that for, like, two chocolate bars back when I was a kid. No regrets.” _

_ “No, no, I don’t think that’s necessarily true,” _ she had said to him.  _ “You love quite openly, Techno. Just because it’s more difficult to see doesn’t mean it’s not there.” _

Then she had taken a sip of her coffee and rambled about some pirated mirror of a movie Fundy had coded as if she hadn’t just turned Techno’s world upside down.

So no, he wasn’t angry, nor did he think Tapl was a bad friend. Really, as cringey as he thought it sounded, it was an act of love for a friend he hadn’t shown much love to recently.

And Tapl thought he had only helped out of obligation. Something about that was so awfully wrong.

Techno shook his head. “No, not angry. Just…”

Worried. He had been worried.

“Just try not to do that again,” Techno decided on, keeping his voice quiet. “But if you do, call me again. I don’t mind, even if I do look a little angry. You know it’s just my face.”

Tapl grinned goofily at that, and Techno couldn’t help but let the frown on his face ease up.

Tapl drank around half the cup before he spoke again. “Yeah, ‘just your face’ is right. Remember when I kicked your ass at that first fencing tournament?” He furrowed his eyebrows. “First? Yeah, probably first. I think. Was it the first or second one you looked like you wanted to kill me?”

Techno remembered that moment quite clearly, actually. Middle school fencing tournaments were about as intense as the average person expected them to be—that is to say, not at all. In fact, it was quite boring even for him. After all, he had spent half a year kicking around his clubmates and fencers from other schools like they were blades of grass bending to the will of the wind.

Things changed with the seventh tournament he registered for and with the appearance of some short guy from a different school with a funky name.

Okay. He could entertain this for a moment.

“Yeah, first,” Techno said. “I’ll admit you did beat me in that first tournament. Not by much, though.”

“I beat you in eight of the ten bouts, you idiot.”

“Semantics.”

It hadn’t been semantics in the slightest, and both of them knew that. After that round, Techno had paced around the entire building for twenty minutes before managing to kick his ego to the side and ask Tapl to teach him how he had done it. Tapl, having not been a dramatic recluse like Techno and apparently having only been a little put off by the murderous expression on his face, readily spent the rest of the downtime drilling him on his weak parry four. 

And that was how their friendship had kicked off in the most scuffed way. Techno didn’t have a phone at that time and they attended different schools, but that somehow hadn’t stopped them from continuously meeting at every subsequent fencing tournament.

(It had been a joyous day when Techno realized he and Tapl were on track to attend the same high school. More joyous than he’d ever admit, even to himself.)

“Yeah, keep saying that.” Then Tapl giggled with so much fondness in his voice that Techno cringed. “You were so much softer back then. You’d, like, come up to me every tournament and gasp and say, ‘It’s Tapl!’. That was the highlight of every tournament for me.”

Oh, god, he did. That was a thing that had actually happened and would never live down now that he knew Tapl remembered.

“Shut up,” Techno grumbled. “I don’t wanna hear that from the person who literally spammed me with Candy Crush invites the moment I got a phone.”

“Okay, but it was funny.”

“It was not.”

“It was funny!”

Their conversation then delved into all the embarrassing middle school stuff they had gotten up to, formerly relayed only by hurried conversations between matches and promises to elaborate that went forgotten. Now that they had the time to comb over every detail and the hindsight, everything seemed so much more ridiculous. But Techno supposed that was only natural with age.

High school didn’t have much of the same miscommunication, but the whole experience had still been bungled in the most hilarious ways possible, from all the late nights Techno drilled chemistry formulas with Tapl to all the times Tapl introduced him to what became another hyperfixation. He didn’t miss high school and all the bullshit attached to it. There was something nostalgic about it all, though.

Personally, Techno’s favorite memory had to be sometime towards the end of their senior year when the two of them had decided to throw all caution to the wind and sneak out of their houses to get food together at some random fast food chain. He still remembered his order: a double-double burger with fries and an abomination of a drink he and Tapl had concocted by mixing hot cocoa with root beer. The slowest cashier in the world had been in charge of serving them, his words slow and slurred. Looking back, he had probably been high.

And looking back, Techno frowned as he realized that had been the last time they had hung out with just the two of them. Judging by the fading smile from Tapl’s face, that realization was sinking in for him, too.

“Why’d we stop talking after that?” Tapl asked quietly.

Techno stayed silent.

He didn’t know the answer either. Thinking about it too much made his heart hurt.

Tapl continued despite it, staring up at the ceiling with his eyes squinted and nose scrunched. “I mean, friends drift and all that without meaning to. It’s only natural. I just don’t understand where I went wrong, I guess.”

“You did nothing wrong,” Techno added before he could think about it.

“Maybe.” Then Tapl chuckled in the same fond way he did all those years back when he had played fetch with Floof, when he had recalled all those moments they had spent together. “You know, I see you around campus with your friends sometimes, and like…  _ dude. _ ” He laughed. “I’m so proud of you. Zak is, too. Who would’ve thought the antisocial guy who always carried a pocket knife on him would end up being one of the most famous guys around town?”

Techno smiled at that, his thumb rubbing against the handle of the blade tucked away in his pocket, the pocket knife Tapl had gifted him for his seventeenth birthday. He could still feel the number seventeen engraved into it (shittily engraved, but engraved nonetheless). He didn’t carry it around for protection anymore; his paranoia had eased a bit over the years. But having it on him, staring at the engraved number felt safe for reasons he suspected he didn’t have the emotional intelligence to comprehend.

Tapl fell back against the board of his bed, running an uncoordinated hand through messy hair. “But yeah. I just miss you. You were— _ are _ like a brother to me, you know? Still love you lots, man.”

He laid his heart out so easily. How did he do that so easily?

Granted, it was probably much easier for a drunk person to be honest. Outward affection came much easier to Tapl than it did to Techno, too. 

But Techno had a philosophy he had kept with him since high school: reach for the stars and never relent in the pursuit of them. Why would he half-ass anything when he could full-ass something he cared about? And as much as he liked to deny it even to himself, his friends were absolutely something he cared about, more than he would like to be.

So maybe he could be honest with both of them for just a moment.

“I get… what you’re saying,” Techno said slowly. The right words were hard to pick. “I can see it, too. I guess I just… I don’t know.”

God, what was this? He was a psychology major and couldn’t even begin to map out whatever the hell he was feeling. But somehow, the drunk idiot in front of him understood completely without words.

“So you’re saying, like…” Tapl gasped, then shot him a brilliantly warm grin only he could pull off. “You miss me, too?”

Techno huffed. It wasn’t that easy to figure out, was it? What a scam. “I don’t  _ miss _ you, I just—”

“Oh, holy shit, the room’s spinning,” Tapl said. His hand shot up to hold his head. “Give me a second, I’m just…”

Techno rolled his eyes and pulled the blankets over Tapl’s shoulders. “Sleep it off. You’ll be okay.”

“... Will you be okay?”

The question was asked so quietly Techno almost didn’t hear. But when he turned to face him, Tapl regarded him with the most genuine, concerned expression Techno had ever been given.

Tapl was still the kind, considerate soul he had been back when they first met. Even if Techno had mostly outgrown all the fencing advice and speaking tips Tapl had given him, his regard for him hadn’t died away in the slightest.

He should return that. He wanted to be someone Tapl looked up to. Tapl had been just that for him for so many years and still continued to be, after all.

So Techno pushed aside all the arbitrary defense mechanisms in his way, offered Tapl as genuine of a smile as he could, and said, “I’ll be okay.”

And that must have been good enough for Tapl, because his eyes fluttered shut and his breathing evened out.

Now, for what he had been dreading all night.

Techno dug his phone out of his pocket, tapped on a contact’s number, and waited.

“... Hello?”

“Phil,” Techno said, careful to keep his voice calm.

Phil sighed on the other end. “Techno, it’s so late over there. Didn’t I tell you to be asleep by—”

“How do I take care of a drunk person?”

* * *

After Phil had gotten through with laughing at him, Techno walked away from the conversation with a couple things to keep in mind. But the most important note Phil had given him was a drunk person (especially one as shit-faced as Tapl had gotten, but Techno omitted that part for both his and Tapl’s sakes) might wake up sporadically throughout the night and to keep his hydration and electrolyte levels up. He had also added with a laugh that his favorite part of getting drunk had been all the hangover food he’d justify making to himself.

Techno would stay the night to deal with that first note. He had already texted Wilbur as such, then muted his notifications to avoid having yet another embarrassing conversation today. But as for the other two…

Techno grabbed Tapl’s phone off the nightstand. Tapl hadn’t upgraded his phone since the summer of their senior year. Was his fingerprint still—

Okay, good, it was. Techno navigated to the calendar.

Brunch together? Was that a thing people did? He recalled Dream saying something about often setting aside time to have brunch with George and Sapnap. And if Dream was doing something, god damn it, he’d do it ten times better.

Techno added “brunch with Techno” to the calendar for the next day, then hovered over the calendar spot for next week.

He, Tommy, Phil, and the others would be playing laser tag next week at two in the afternoon, too. Tapl would be up for that sort of thing, right? Techno had distinct memories of him and Techno decimating each other in laser tag at one of Skeppy’s birthday parties. It was quality time together, even if it wasn’t one-on-one.

Hey, they could continuously clown on each other again. He looked forward to that.

Techno added “laser tag with the gang” to the calendar. Yeah, that was probably how Tapl would phrase that. He added the time, location, and people involved.

Two events were enough for now; Tapl didn’t bode too well being inundated with social events.

Techno set Tapl’s phone back on the nightstand before taking stock of himself.

He was too tired to move. Worry could only go so far in keeping his energy up, and now that Tapl was asleep and Phil knew he wasn’t, he had nobody to spite by staying awake.

… Well, he supposed one day off his guard wouldn’t hurt. The only other people with the keys to this place were Skeppy and his boyfriend, and he was fairly sure he could take on at least a good half of the people on-campus in a fight.

Yeah. That was good enough for him.

_ ‘Night, nerd,  _ Techno bid before letting his eyes fall shut.

* * *

Techno woke up to groaning, muttered curses, and general sounds of pain.

“... Techno?” Tapl called, sitting up with a hand on his head. “Why’re you here? And why does everything hurt?”

Well, at least he was asking the right questions. Techno paused to wipe away the last dredges of sleep from his mind and recollect his own memories.

Tapl leveled a disbelieving stare at him before he could fully process everything. “Oh my god, did you sleep on the floor like an idiot? Dude, Zak’s always over at Bad’s place. You can take his bed, you know.”

Techno shrugged. “I don’t mind the floor. And basically, you got really drunk at a bar and called me to pick you up.”

“... Oh. Yeah, that sounds like something I would do.” He leaned back against the headboard of his bed. “At least I was smart enough to tell you where I was, huh?”

“Nah, your simp told me on the same call.” Techno elaborated upon seeing Tapl furrow his eyebrows. “Uh, Spifey, I think.”

Tapl’s eyes widened, then he attempted a glare that would’ve been intimidating to anyone else. “Hey! Shut up, I don’t wanna hear it from you of all people.”

“Is that not what he is?”

“No. Shut up. I hate you.”

Techno sat back with what he was sure was a smug smirk. But there were more pressing matters to discuss than Tapl’s admirer. He kept his voice relaxed as he asked, “D’you remember much from last night?”

Tapl frowned at that. “I mean… I remember being at the bar with my friends. It was my first time trying alcohol, I guess I got a little excited over it.” Then he paused. “Actually, that was chaotic as hell. How do people do that every night? How did  _ I _ do that last night?”

So Tapl didn’t remember any of their discussion. Good. Techno would’ve had to fake his death and flee the country if he had.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t an important conversation. And judging by how comfortable Tapl seemed in his presence, it hadn’t been a pointless one.

Techno shrugged. “I mean, drunk people aren’t very well-known for their regard for the laws of the land.”

“That’s true, I guess,” Tapl chuckled. Then his face fell. “Oh my god, don’t tell me I did anything stupid. I didn’t let Vurb see my toes, did I?”

Okay, there was a lot to unpack there. Techno had done enough unpacking last night; he wasn’t gonna go anywhere near that. He only unplugged Tapl’s phone from the charger and handed it to him.

Tapl thanked him quickly before taking the phone and scrolling through his messages. He let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, good, he didn’t say anything. But… wait, when did I have brunch with you?”

Oh, fuck, he didn’t think of an excuse for that.

Techno shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe it was a drunk thing you did.” He pulled his own phone out of his pocket and tapped on the food delivery service app. Egh, the battery was on ten percent. He should probably charge it soon. “Anyway, you wanna order from somewhere? You don’t look like you can walk straight.”

Silence.

Techno looked up, only to meet Tapl squinting at him suspiciously. “What?”

“Were you the one who put brunch and laser tag into my phone?”

“What? Oh, nah. Wasn’t me.”

Tapl stared before grinning and turning back to his phone. “Oh, sure. Dream totally put them in. I should text him thanks for inviting me, give him the credit.”

Oh, god damn it. This little shit.

“No!” Techno laughed. “He took everything from me.”

Tapl laughed along with him, then leaned over to point at a restaurant on his phone. “Oh, that place is pretty good.”

“... That place is known for their bacon.”

“Yes, and I’m gonna order copious amounts of bacon.”

“You traitor. I thought we were brothers.”

Tapl giggled at that, and Techno couldn’t help but smile along. “Get our usuals. You want me to Venmo you now or later?”

Techno rolled his eyes. As if he was about to let Tapl kill his wallet more than he already had yesterday at the bar. “Don’t Venmo me, idiot. I have enough credits.”

“What? No way. I’m Venmo-ing you.”

“Nope, nerds not allowed in my Venmo account.”

“I swear to—okay, you know what? I’m using my account.”

Well, that was alarming. Techno opened his mouth to say something, but Tapl snatched his phone out of his hands before the words could leave.

Oh no.

Someone was going to fucking die.

Techno leapt up from his seat on the floor and whirled to take the phone back, to which Tapl yelped and dodged.

But even as they wrestled the phone out of each others’ hands, Techno found himself laughing along with Tapl.

What an idiot. What a fucking nerd.

He couldn’t be happier with his choice of brother.

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed ^_^


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